It gave them something to write about
Question b. We gave the little darlings a Progress Test yesterday. I asked Glen to devise the test, while like lemmings, our pupils mostly opted for the same writing task, viz. Which is more important, better grades or better knowledge, or are they the same thing? It looks interesting enough superficially, but it fails as a question because grades are the result of testing knowledge. To say that one is more important than the other makes no real sense. The question ought to have been something like Which is more useful? Theoretical or practical knowledge; or are both equally as important? I’m not sure that this topic is any better because it leaves the particular field of knowledge unstated. In everyday life, for example, practical knowledge is clearly more useful. An alternative question might be Which is more useful: breadth of knowledge or breadth of experience? Or are both usefully applicable under the right circumstances? Again, this probably isn’t really a good question since any...